Business

AT&T Reportedly Looking to Expand to Europe and Two Other Stories You Need to Know

Welcome to this morning's edition of 'First To Know,' a series in which we keep you in the know on what's happening in the digital world. Today, we're looking at three particularly interesting stories.

The company is looking into potential acquisitions on the old continent. If such a deal comes through, it could happen before the end of 2013, the WSJ claimed. Targets include Dutch company Royal KPN NV and the UK's Everything Everywhere, but AT&T also wouldn't mind settling in Germany, the report added.

Dutch Court Rules Samsung's Tablets Do Not Infringe on Apple's Design

A Dutch court has ruled that Samsung's tablets do not infringe on Apple's design, Reuters reported. It's another victory for the Korean electronic giant in a seemingly never-ending patent dispute. Last July, a UK court ruled that Samsung didn't copy the iPad, but in the following month, a U.S. court awarded Apple $1 billion in damages after a similar trial.

"We continue to believe that Apple was not the first to design a tablet with a rectangular shape and rounded corners and that the origins of Apple's registered design features can be found in numerous examples," Samsung said in a statement.

Asus Wants to Make a Windows Phone 8 Smartphone or Padfone

Asus has expressed interest in making a Windows Phone 8-based smartphone or Padfone, the company's trademarked combination of a smartphone and a tablet, the Wall Street Journalreported.

We're not sure how a WP8-based Padfone would work, since the operating system is a bit restrictive when it comes to screen size, but Microsoft certainly wouldn't mind seeing one, especially after HTC reportedly gave up on plans to make a large-screen WP device.

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